Steering gear



. Oct. 25, 1921.

, 1,647,034 L. W. CHASE STEERING GEAR Filed Jan. 3. 1927 INVENTOR. L. W Chose ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 25, 1927. v i I i u TEn-s rAT s PATENT OFFICE.

LEON CHASE, OF*LI1\TCOL1\T, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR TO CHASE PLOW COMPANY, A

' CORPORATION OF NEBRASKA.

. STEERING GEAR.

Application filed January 3, 1927. Serial No. 158,792.

My invention relates to steering wheel the cultivator are secured by means of bolts 1 connections for Cultivators andits object is or the like. At its lower extremity the. sleeve the provision of afoot operated device for 16 is provided with forwardly projecting controlling the movements of the steering ears to which the brace members 21 are se- 55 5 wheel, the device forming a foot .rest'for cured, the brace members 21 being secured the .clriver-both'whenshifting the direction at their forward ends to the members 20. of movement of the implementand when A collar 23 encircles. the standard imtraveling in a straightlinej and the wheel mediately beneath the sleeve 16 and it is being .normally latched against steering held thereto by means of a set screw 23. 60

-10 movement but the latching connection being The collar 23, of course, prevents upward such that itengages and releases automatiinovenient 0f the standard 10 in its bearing cally at the beginningand end of the steer- 1n the cultivator frame. ing operation. The invention also contem- Projecting rearwardlyfrom the sleeve 16 plates the provision of means forireleasably 1 WO lugs 24 and 25 and the seat support 65 maintaining the latching device in its un- 26 i s.provicled with two apertures for relatched position. celving these lugs. The length of the lugs Having in view these objects and others 2 1 and 25 is equal to or less than the thickwhich will be pointed out in the following 5? Pf t e Seat SUPP G- A strap 7 s description, I will now refer to the drawpositioned transversely across the seat sup- 70 ings, in whi h i port and it. is secured to the members 19 Figure 1 is a plan view showing the conby means of a pair of bolts 28. I This pronections of the-steering wheel with the rear Vldes an exceedingly rigid connection for end portion of the cultivator frame. the Seat upp r Fi 2 i a id l ti f th parts Surrounding the portion 15 of the wheel 75 h w j Fi 1 j a I standard is a casting 29 having the form :Figur 3 is a i simila t that f Fi shown in Figure 1. This casting rests on 'ureJ2 but showing some of the parts in secthe S ulder nd is secured in place by tionb means of the nut 22. The casting has a pair The wheelstandard 10 is pivotally se of f rwardly projecting ears to which foot 30 3o cured to the cultivator frame and it is first levers are P Y Secured y means. bent rearwardly and then laterally to pass Of thepin 31, the pedals'having stirrups through the sand box 11 and through the which are arranged in convenient position hub of the wheel 12 to which it is secured Wlth nce to the drivers seat. 'The pin b means f a h b cap 13, A11.; thi i 31 constitutes a pivotal connection so that 35 common t ti b t t it upper d when the forward ends of the foot levers the standard is modified as shown iii-Figure are dep s d i ses the rear extremi- 3 havi it upper d, ti d d d ties to rise. The foot levers 30 are connectformed into a screw threaded .end portion dat their rear extremities by means of a let and into a portion 15 which is in the form p111 32 and they are spaced by means of a 90 of a frustrum of a pyramid. The diagonal collar 33 surrounding the pin 32. The links at the base of. the portion15 isless than the 34: are also secured to the pin 32 and at their diameter of the standard 10 so. that a dislower ends the links 3-1 are connected to tinct shoulder is formed at the junction. bosses35 on theslidable collar 36. The col- The sleeve 16 surrounds the standard 10 lar 36 has a pair of downwardly projecting 95 and this sleeve is provided with an outlugs 37 which are adapted to seat in th wai'dly projecting flange 17 at itsupper exsockets 38 to prevent rotation of the standard tremity and with a similar flange 18at its 10. The collar 36 is held in its depressed lower extremity. The sleeve 16 is in the position by means of the coil spring 39, and

form of a casting having a pair of forward. the collar 36 is depressed, rotatio; of 169 ly and outwardly diverging channeled mem thestandard. 10 in its vertical will hers 151 to which the frame members 29st is iiii possible because of the the lugs 37 to the sockets 38 and because of the fact that the collar 29 is secured against rotation on the standard 10. It will be apparent, however, that when the forward ends of the foot levers 30 are depressed the links 34: and collar 36 will be elevated to release the lugs 37 from engagement in the sockets 38. When the holding means are thus re leased the wheel 12 may be used as a steering wheel by forcing the foot levers laterally. lVhen the parts are locked the wheel 12 tends to maintain the travel of the implement in a straight line. When traveling in irregular corn rows where quick responses are required it is desirable to keep the wheel 12 in its steering position as shown in Figure 2. The collar 86 is provided with a hooked projection at its forward end and this hooked projection is engageable by a hook 40, the hook i0 being pivotally secured to swing freely into the path of the hooked projection on the collar 36.

The connections as above described are designed for use on a cultivator having a front wheel support and in which the side beams of the frame converge rearwardly. The steering wheel and its connections are thus secured to the triangular cultivator at its rear apex. It is obvious, however, that the steering wheel and its connections might be found to be equally useful in other relations, as for example, in other implements and on trucks and tractors, and for this reason I lay claim to the novel features of the wheel connections per se and I do not desire to be restricted to the particular use which I have described.

The connections have, however, a peculiar advantage especially in their use with cultivators. The driver is seated rearwardly of the implement and high enough to see the entire implement and to observe all of the irregularities of the corn row so that he can properly guide the implement. If the implement is operating on level ground in straight rows, it is only necessary to guide the draft animals. If the implement then runs into a stretch of irregular rows, he merely depresses the foot levers and guides the implement according to the row. In spots where frequent shifts are required, the automatic hook 40 will be of great importance as it permits the driver to concentrate his attention on the steering operation. In rows where the steering wheel is actuated only infrequently, the latch 37 38 will make it easy for the driver to guide the implement in a straight line and to shift it out of its straight-line course only at the infrequent irregularities, the hook 40 under such circumstances being swung around where it cannot engage the hooked end of the collar 36.

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear, and exact terms that its construction and operation will be readily understood by others skilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A steering wheel having a vertical standard, a bearing for said standard, a lever secured to said standard for rocking said standard in its bearing, a spring pressed latch for holding said standard against rocking movement in said bearing, means operable by said lever for releasing said latch, and means automatically engaging said latch to hold said latch in its released position.

2. A steering wheel having a vertica standard, abearing for said standard, a lever secured to said standard for rocking said standard in said bearing, a spring pressed latch for holding said standard against rocking movement in said bearing, said lever having a horizontal transverse axis for rocking movement, a link secured to said lever and to said latch for releasing said latch by downward pressure on said lever, and means for holding said latch in its released position, said means being automatically operable upon the actuation of said lever in re leasing said latch.

3. A steering wheel having a vertical wheel standard, a bearing for said standard, a collar slidably and nonrotatably secured to said standard above said bearing, a projection depending from said collar, said 7 bearing being provided with a notch for receiving said projection to latch said collar and said wheel standard against rocking movement in said bearing, means yieldably holding said projection in engagement 1n the notch in said bearing, a lever secured to said standard for rocking said standard in its bearing, and means operable by said lever for releasing said projection from engagement in the notch in said collar.

4:. A steering wheel having a vertical wheel standard, an implement frame having a bearing for said standard, a seat support and a seat secured to said implement frame rearwardly of said wheel standard, a pair of horizontally positioned diverging foot levers secured to said wheel standard for rocking said wheel standard in said bearing, a latching device between said wheel standard and said bearing for holding said wheel standard against rocking movement in said bearing, said latching device including a collar surrounding said wheel standard and slidable thereon, said levers being secured to rock about a horizontal transverse pivot,links secured to said levers and to said collars for releasing said latching device when the forward extremities of said levers are depressed, and a hook for holding said collar out of latching relation, said hook being adapted to automatically engage said collar when said collar is out of latching relation.

5. In combination With a vehicle frame and a steering Wheel having a vertical post. a pair of divergent foot levers secured to said post and projecting forwardly there tion between said foot levers and said latch for releasing said latch and thus permitting the steering of said vehicle frame through 10 said foot levers.

- In testimony Whereofl aifix my signature.

LEON W. CHASE. 

